Fire and Flames
by usagisama7874
Summary: A puppyshipping fic. Kaiba and Jounochi end up living together - what will happen! What does Mokuba know that he shouldn't! Oh, the drama! Starts off angsty, but eventually becomes laid-back and cute. Enjoy!
1. Lies and Truth

Hey guys, here's a new story! Puppyshipping is my first love, so I finally got around to publishing something for it. Hope you enjoy! Please review!

* * *

"Jounochi."

Is someone calling me?…

"Wake up."

No, thanks. I think I'll wait a little longer…

"Jounochi, if you don't get out of bed now-"

I groaned. Whoever was trying to wake me up had finally succeeded. Yawning, I sat up, and then froze as I took in my surroundings. The first thing I noticed was that I wasn't in my room. Second, Seto Kaiba was standing over me, buttoning up his shirt. Third, I was wearing pajamas that weren't mine.

What the hell and happened?

While I took all of this in, the rich boy continued to glare at me.

"Kaiba?" I asked. "What happened?"

Suddenly, a sharp stab of pain shot through my head. I grabbed it in surprise, groaning.

"There's some aspirin on the table," he instructed. "I figured you'd be in pain this morning. Last night we found you on the streets completely drunk, and Mokuba insisted that we let you stay here for the night."

I kept my face in my hand. Of course, it was all coming back to me now. I had gotten drunk off of my father's whiskey supply because it was a good way to block out the pain. Sliding out of bed on the opposite side of where Kaiba was standing, I opened the bottle of water and threw the pills in my mouth, drowning them with the cool liquid. The water flushed the taste of stale alcohol off my breath, and I proceeded to finish off the entire bottle. After all this, I wiped my mouth on the back of my sleeve and turned back to Kaiba, who was grimacing.

"They have napkins for that, you know."

Oh, he didn't like that I wiped my mouth like that. That's right, I was wearing his pajamas. Looking down at myself, I found that I was wearing a simple blue satin pajama set, instead of my usual ratty tee shirt and sweatpants.

"Oh, sorry about that. You're going to have to wash them anyway," I shrugged. "Oh, and um, thanks. For picking me up and all."

"Don't let it get to your head, it was Mokuba's idea." He gestured lazily to the foot of the bed. "Your clothes are there. Get changed and then we'll take you home."

I simply nodded, having too much of a headache to argue with him. "Alright. What time is it, anyway?"

"Just after nine," the brunette answered.

Damn. That meant my father would be back from the bar. Maybe with any luck, he would still be asleep when I got home. I grabbed the clothes off the bed, and walked into the bathroom that was connected to the (I assumed) spare bedroom.

It was a big bathroom, with two sinks along one wall, and a bathtub and toilet along the opposite one. I pulled my shirt off carefully, gazing at the full length mirror that hung on the door.

Collarbone.

Right ribs.

Both biceps.

These were the areas that were yellow and blue, that were the reason I didn't change in front of anyone. Why I skipped out on the health screening at school. Why last week, when Mai invited me to her house after a party, I declined. These were the reasons I was drinking last night.

I quickly looked away from the mirror. No need to pity myself now. I pulled on my clothes, which smelled clean, so they must have been washed, and opened the bathroom door to see Kaiba standing by the bed, checking his watch. He looked up when I asked him where I should put the leant pajamas.

"You took a while," he accused, ignoring my question.

"No one asked you to time me, Kaiba," I snapped. I walked past him, throwing the clothes onto the bed. His maids would just get it anyway.

He chuckled. "Just like a woman."

With that, I broke. "Damn you, Kaiba! Just because-"

He held up his hand. "The car is waiting for us, Jounochi," he said evenly. I faltered, relaxing, and followed him into the hallway. One day, I would get back at him for all the shit he gives me.

We were greeted at the bottom of the steps by an older man in a suit who I assumed was his butler.

"Good morning, Mr. Kaiba," he greeted. "The limousine is here to take you and Mr. Jounochi to his residence."

"Thank you, Walter."

I let out a fake gasp. "Kaiba, saying thank you?! It's a miracle!"

He threw me a look like daggers, but out of the corner of my eye I think I saw his butler holding back a smile.

"Don't push me, mutt."

Just then, Mokuba came flying down the stairs. "Hey Jou!" He greeted me brightly. "Feeling better?"

I smiled at him. "Yeah. Thanks for your help, kiddo."

"Oh, thank Seto, not me! He was the one who wanted to help you. He was even late for his-"

"That's enough, Mokuba." Kaiba was giving his brother the same piercing glare he had been shooting me just a minute ago.

"But big brother!-"

"Eat your breakfast, Mokuba."

The boy hung his head. "Yes, Seto."

"You didn't have to be so hard on him, Kaiba!" I interrupted. "He was just trying to make you seem like less of a heartless bastard than you actually are!"

I was still in somewhat of a shock from what Mokuba had just told me. If what he said was the truth, that means that Kaiba actually showed sympathy - dare I say, even concern - towards a "worthless mutt" like me. It seems that there's more to the great Seto Kaiba than meets the eye.

Said CEO had his back turned away from me now, facing the door. "Let's go. We're leaving."

I called out a goodbye to Mokuba and followed him to the limo that waited out front. Sitting across from him, I could see that he was still angry. I decided that it would be best if I kept my mouth shut for now, but inside I was glowing. Kaiba, the rich prick, actually had feelings! Just wait until Yugi and the others hear about this!

The driver cleared his throat. "Master Kaiba, where are we going?" Realizing that Kaiba didn't have my address and therefore didn't know where we were going, I spoke up and told the driver for him. After that, I was able to keep quiet for a good five minutes before I finally blurted out "Is what Mokuba said true?"

"That's none of your damn business, mutt."

Gritting my teeth, I said "I'm not a dog, Kaiba! And I'm tired of you treating me like one! And since I'm the one you did or did not want in your house last night, it sure as hell is my business!"

"If I don't want to talk about it, I'm not going to!" His voice was louder now. "It's none of your business what I think of you, and Mokuba spoke inappropriately!"

"Don't go blaming Mokuba!" I yelled. In the background, I could hear sirens. "He's just a kid! It doesn't matter!-"

"Jounochi."

"Let me finish, bastard! It doesn't matter if Mokuba's your brother or not, you shouldn't speak to him like that!" Kaiba's stare seemed to be fixed on something behind me, out the front window.

"Are you even listening to me, asshole?!"

"Jounochi." His voice was quiet now. "Is that your apartment?"

I whipped around in my seat to see the cause of the sirens I'd heard. In front of the limo, past the barricade of fire trucks that blocked the street, sat my apartment building, with smoke pouring out of the third floor window.

My floor.

Flames flickered inside, and two men wheeled a stretcher into the back of an ambulance. Streams of water were being shot at the blaze.

"Yeah," I answered.

"That's my apartment."

* * *

So, what'd ya think? Pretty short, but there's more to come! Let me know what you thought!


	2. Rights and Wrongs

I ran out of the car, and I could faintly hear Kaiba's footsteps follow me over the crackle of the fire and men yelling. I run up to the guy who looks like he's in charge. "Hey! What happened here?!"

He glanced at me before going back to his work. "Get outta here. This is no place for a kid."

"Sir, I live here! Please, why happened?!" Although my speech sounded polite, my voice was frustrated, panicked.

The man turned back to me, eyeing me carefully. "You live here?"

I nodded.

"You know the man in there?"

I swallowed. "My father. Is he alright?"

He averted his eyes, not saying anything. Grabbing his shoulder, I yelled "Answer me! Where's my father?!"

The officer turned back to me again, looking me straight in the eye this time.

"He's dead."

…..

"W-What?"

"I'm sorry son. Your father died. There was too much smoke in his lungs."

Before I could respond, another firefighter jogged up to us. "Boss, the fire's out, but we couldn't save the apartment." He noticed me for the first time. "Who's this?"

The man sighed. "The kid who lived here."

Lived. Past tense.

The younger firefighter looked uncomfortable now. "Oh."

"You couldn't save anything?" My voice was barely above a whisper.

"Well, there was one thing." He called to another worker over his shoulder. "Hey, Takuya! Bring it over here!" The man, Takuya, jogged over to us.

"You want it?"

"Yeah. This is the kid who lived here."

"Oh…well, does this belong to you?" He handed me a photograph. Flipping it over, I stared at the image in my hands. It was a picture of Shizuka and I, taken last summer. In the corner of the picture, you could see the top spike of Yugi's hair. I smiled a little, thinking of how upset he had been when he found out he was too short to fit in any of the pictures.

"Yeah, this is mine. Thank you."

The chief nodded. "Look, we have to get this whole situation sorted out, see if your dad left a will or anything - but that's not my job. I just need to make sure you have a place to stay while that whole process happens.

I started thinking. As far as I know, my father had never been sober enough to write a will, nor had he cared enough. This probably meant that social services was going to stick me with my mother, no question. But where to stay until that happened…

Kaiba, who had been silent up until this point, stepped in front of me and handed a slip of paper to the chief. "Tell the social service worker to be at that address at ten tomorrow morning. It's not hard to find." with that, he grabbed my arm and pulled me away from all the chaos, back towards the car. I got into the limo wordlessly and stared at him in silence before saying "Let me guess. You're doing it because Mokuba would be mad if you didn't?" He answered me with a glare, no surprise.

"Yes, he would be."

I rolled my eyes. "Well, thank you anyway. I really appreciate it, Kaiba."

Scowling, he replied "It doesn't matter. It's not like my mansion isn't big enough to hold one more person for a night."

I sighed. What was the point in being nice to him if he was always such an asshole?

The rest of the drive was silent. When we got there, I unbuckled my seatbelt and moved my hand to the door handle, only to be stopped by Kaiba himself. "Stay here," he instructed, and left the car, walking briskly inside. I did as I was told and sat there, confused. Were we going somewhere else? He returned a moment later, this time with Mokuba in tow. They got in the car, and Mokukba bounced into the seat next to me, immediately wrapping his arms around me.

"I'm really sorry, Jou."

I smiled down at him. "Hey, thanks kiddo. It's okay though. So…what are we doing?"

"We're going shopping," Kaiba cut in. "I figured you can't just wear that same ratty outfit forever."

"Yeah!" Mokuba said, much more cheerfully. "I'll help you find lots of cool stuff to wear!"

For some reason, behind my excitement at hearing the explanation, I felt somewhat nervous. What if Kaiba tried buying me giant trenchcoats or something? I tried to imagine myself in Kaiba's clothes, but couldn't. The picture was just too weird.

"Eh…alright." I debated for a second telling them what I was thinking, and decided there was really no harm in doing it. It's not like Kaiba doesn't hate me already.

"But you better not buy me anything weird, Kaiba. I don't want to be talking around all fancy and stuff."

Rich boy rolled his eyes. "Don't worry. God forbid you don't look like a mutt for once."

I gritted my teeth. "For the last time, I am not a goddamned mutt!"

"Jounochi!" He said sharply. "Watch your language around my brother."

I faltered. "Oh, right. Sorry, I didn't think about that." But hadn't I said bastard in front of him anyway? When Kaiba wasn't looking, Mokuba smiled and rolled his eyes. I held back a laugh as we pulled up in front of the mall.

For the next three hours, Kaiba dragged me around the mall, picking clothes he thought would look good on me and sighing when I rejected him. At one point, he got so frustrated with me that he actually walked out of the store for a couple minutes before coming back with a mask of cool indifference on his face. "Alright," he had said. "Let's try this again."

I had to admit though, some of the stuff he picked out was pretty cool. By the end of the day, we were both making compromises.

* * *

"Jounochi," he said. "You should get at least one nice shirt."

"Yeah, right." What would I even wear a nice shirt to? Although, maybe I could use this to my advantage. "Fine. I'll let you buy me this if you also get these jeans for yourself."

He had caved, and finding this method worked, I used it several more times, resulting in a sort of game between us. Mokuba found stuff he wanted too, and then we both picked

out things for Kaiba. Most of the clothes we found for him were casual shirts that we couldn't imagine him in, but he reluctantly bought them anyway. He put his foot down, though, when we held up a pair of soccer shorts, so Mokuba, giggling, got them instead. When we left the mall, we were each carrying five bags.

We got back to the limo where Mokuba and I struck up a conversation about Duel Monsters and what cards were better than other ones and which cards were the most effective. Occasionally, I would see Kaiba glance over to us, and I cold tell he was listening because his expression would change sometimes depending on what we said. I suddenly got an idea, and smirked to myself. "Yeah, that card's pretty good," I said to Mokuba. "Not like the Blue Eyes White Dragon. That card sucks." The kid's eyes widened as he realized what I was doing, and he smiled a bit, joining in.

"Yeah," he agreed. "That card's terrible. Who would even use that?" I glanced quickly at Kaiba's face, and seeing how pissed he looked, I kept going.

"Only real pricks use that card, Mokuba," I told him.

"Right. I mean, Yugi doesn't use that card, and he's the best Duel Monsters player in the world!"

"Oh, screw you guys!" Kaiba snapped.

Mokuba and I bust up laughing while Kaiba glared out the window.

"We were just kidding, Seto!" Mokuba grinned. "Right Jou?"

"Weeeeeell…" I snickered when Kaiba made a face at me. "Yeah, yeah, we were just kiddin', Kaiba. No need to get your panties in a bunch."

Mokuba giggled. "Seto, I didn't know you wore panties."

He rolled his eyes. "I don't, Mokuba."

Smiling, I thought it was kinda nice seeing the two brothers like this. Mostly, it was just Kaiba ordering Mokuba around. That was when I realized, much to my surprise, that I was enjoying myself in Kaiba's presence. Hell, who woulda guessed. We pulled up to the mansion and the driver pulled the door open for us to get out, and I followed the two others to the door, suddenly feeling nervous. I'd never really been at Kaiba's house for a while, definitely not overnight. Kaiba, I'm sure, had work to do, and Mokuba would most likely want some time to himself. What was I going to do? What if I knocked over a vase or something, and had to work for Kaiba until I paid it off? But we just strolled casually into his house, two maids greeting us as we entered.

Man, maids are hot.

The butler from this morning also came into the room. "Welcome back, Mister Kaiba."

He decided to skip the greeting, instead just saying "Walter, Jounochi will be staying with us tonight. Please get the spare room next to the library ready."

Walter nodded. "Of course, I'll take care of it immediately." He left the room, and Kaiba called over the maids who had greeted us, and dropped his bags on the floor. "Take these to my bedroom," he ordered. Both girls nodded and hurried up the stairs with the bags. That arrogant bastard! He makes someone else carry his bags, and then leaves Mokuba and I to carry our own! But to my surprise, Kaiba takes Mokuba's bags and starts up the stairs. "Let's go," he says. "We have to sort all of these out."

I nod, and enter Kaiba's room for the first time in my life.

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Hope you enjoyed chapter two! Please review, it means a lot!


	3. Kindness and Mystery

Hey everyone! Thanks for all the positive feedback on this, hopefully you like this chapter just as much!

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His room was blue.

Well, at least the walls were. The floors were hardwood, and the biggest thing in the room was the canopy bed. Why did one guy need such a big bed, anyway? Other than that, it was your pretty standard bedroom. A couple chests, a desk, nothing too fancy. Which was actually surprising, considering who's room was in question. I almost felt disappointed at the lack of decoration. Maybe I had been expecting a giant statue of a Blue Eyes or something. Either way, I had just been staring around Kaiba's room for a while, which made him give me a weird look. I took note that this wasn't the same room as this morning, which was a relief. At least I hadn't been sleeping in Kaiba's room.

God, that was only this morning?

Sighing in relief, I set the bags I had been carrying on the ground. Man, they were heavier than they looked! Pulling the clothes out, I started sorting them according to who they belonged to. It took all three of us about ten minutes to get the job done, and most of the clothes ended up in my pile.

Suddenly, Mokuba piped up "Seto? Can you try on the clothes Jou and I got for you? I wanna see how you look in them."

"No. Not a chance," Kaiba replied, his voice strong and defiant.

"Aww….please, big brother?" The big brown eyes stared up at his brother, threatening to overflow with tears. "Pretty please?" Man, that kid really knows how to act…

They stared at eachother for a long while before finally, Kaiba gave in.

"Fine."

Mokuba let out a cheer, but it was quickly cut off by his brothers voice again.

"But only if Jounochi tries on what I got for him."

I froze. Sure, I let him buy the ridiculous clothes, but I wasn't actually planning on wearing them. I was just gonna ditch 'em in my a closet back at my mom's house. But now, the kid's gaze was fixed on me. "Please, Jou?"

I hesititated. Damn, there was a reason Kaiba couldn't say no to this kid.

"Eh…I don't know Mokuba…"

"Pleeeeaaaaase?"

I sighed. There was no way I was getting out of this. ""Alright, fine. I'll do it."

Mokuba laughed happily. "Thanks Jou!"

Grumbling under my breath, I snatched up the specified clothes from my pile and trudged over to the bathroom. "Is it ok if I use this, Kaiba?" I turned back to him. "Then you can change out here."

"That's fine." He sounded peeved, and I didn't blame him.

It was still pretty funny, though. Smirking, I said "Hey Mokuba, you might want to get a video camera out for this. People will never believe that the great Seto Kaiba was actually wearing jeans."

"Shut the hell up, Jounochi."

Mokuba was giggling in the backround.

"Watch your language, Kaiba," I sang before darting into the bathroom and quickly shutting the door behind me. I was still grinning when I put on the black slacks and plain white dress shirt. There was a red tie along with it, but I've never worn a tie in my life and have no idea how to put one on. Shrugging, I just hung it around my neck and emerged from the bathroom. Luckily,, Kaiba was already dressed, and glaring at me as I walked over to him. I ignored it, since that was the look he gave me most of the time. It was better than that smug ass smirk he had.

"Wow, not bad, Kaiba," I commented on his new apparel. "You could almost pass for a normal teenager." He was in dark jeans that hugged his hips, and a light blue and grey striped V-neck. He still had on his necklace and, honestly, the outfit looked pretty good on him.

He rolled his eyes and took a step closer to me. "It's not surprising that you don't know how to tie this." He reached out and grabbed both ends of the tie, and it was then that I heard a click from the doorway. Looking over, it turned out to be Mokuba, holding a camera. "Hey!" I complained, turning towards him.

"I can't do this if you're moving, mutt." He grabbed my shoulders and turned me back towards him. I felt my shoulders tense up at his touch, but I remained where I was. "You don't need to move me, Kaiba. I can control myself." We stood there in silence for a moment, and I was becoming a bit uncomfortable with how close he was, when he raised an eyebrow and looked at me.

"What, nothing to say about the mutt comment?" His warm breath washed over my face, smelling like mint.

"Do you want one?" I stared at him, expecting an answer, but he just stared back. A moment went by like that before he finally said '"No, that's fine. It's done."

I blinked. "Huh?"

He rolled his eyes. "Your tie, moron. It's done."

"Oh, right." I cleared my throat, backing away. What was my problem? It's like I'm getting embarrassed or something, but there's nothing to get embarrassed over. Especially not this rich bastard. If Kaiba realized I was acting weird, though, he didn't say anything.

"Well, it would help if you tucked in the shirt," he criticized. "But overall, not too bad. Obviously an improvement from before."

"Oh, come on Seto!" Mokuba said, stepping into the room. "Girls will be all over Jou if he dresses like this!" I felt the blood rush to my face, but I shook it off and laughed.

"Yeah, right, kid." Kaiba snickered, and I walked over to the pile of clothes, bending down and grabbing the rest of my pile. "Well, I'm going to hang out with all the girl's who are into me, in my room." Not that I knew where my room was. I looked back and forth at them. "One a you guys wanna show me where it is?"

"I'll do it," Kaiba grudgingly volunteered. "Mokuba, can you go downstairs and tell the cooks to start making lunch?" He nodded, and was gone in a second. Was it really only lunch time? Noticing a digital clock on a table next to the bed, I affirmed that it was around one. Thinking about it, I was pretty hungry. We hadn't gotten anything to eat at the mall, and Kaiba hadn't fed me this morning.

"Mokuba's room is down the hall to the right," he said, walking out of his bedroom. "And yours is to the left." We walked past the double doors leading to the library across from the main staircase, and turned into the room next to it.

The bed wasn't a four-post like Kaiba's, but it was big. The walls were a light green color and the carpet was white. "Well," I commented. "It's better than what I had at home."

"Yeah, well don't get used to it."

Ah, so he was going back to being an asshole. Walking over to the bed, I dropped my clothes onto it.

"Thank god I can finally change out of this." Kaiba hadn't even tied the tie very tight, but it was still starting to bug me.

"For once, I actually agree with you." He turned to leave. "Mokuba was right though. You do look nice." I blinked. First he buys me clothes, and then compliments me? He really must fell bad about what happened.

"Yeah," I replied, still a little stunned. "You too." He left the room without saying anything else.

As I put on the clothes I had been wearing before, I couldn't stop thinking about the fact that Kaiba had actually complimented me.

Maybe he really does have feelings.


	4. Frustration and Confusion

"Wow, this is great," I said through a mouthful of food. Since I was at Kaiba's, I expected to be having something really fancy to eat, like lobster or filet mignon. To my surprise, though, we were chowing down on burgers. But let me tell you, this is no fast food burger. The meat's perfectly cooked, thick and juicy. The tomato is ripe, and the cheese practically melts in my mouth.

"I know, right?" Mokuba answered me in the same fashion. Kaiba scoffed.

"Am I the only one here with manners?"

The kid wiped his mouth with a napkin. "Oops, sorry Seto."

I shrugged. "I never learned 'em as a kid."

Kaiba began rattling off things:

"Don't talk with food in your mouth. Chew with your mouth closed. Don't slurp your soup. Always put your napkin in your lap, especially if it's cloth. Always eat salad with-"

"Ok, ok, I get it," I interrupted him. 'S not like I was going to remember any of it, anyway.

"Is there a special way I have to hold my glass?" I asked, sarcastically, taking a gulp of water.

"Pinkie finger on the bottom of the cup," he answered. "So it doesn't clang against the table."

I stared at him blankly. "You're makin' that up."

"Yes, because I make jokes so often." Well, he did have a point there.

I shook my head in disbelief. "Yeah, well you have fun with your pinkie finger." A man came around and started collecting our empty plates, and I wondered what I should do now. Hang out in my room, I suppose. Just as I was faced with this dilemma, a solution appeared.

"Hey Jou, wanna go play video games with me?"

"You mean study for your math test?" Kaiba interjected. His brother groaned.

"Setoooo…"

"You've put it off long enough, Mokuba. Unless you want to fail and have your Playstation taken away –"

"Fine, fine. I'm going." The kid said in defeat. I don't think I've ever sympathized with another person more in my life than at that moment.

"You still want me to come?" I offered. It wasn't like I had anything better to do, and maybe we could still play some games afterwards.

"Sure!" He grinned. "You can help me with the stuff I don't know."

Across the table, I heard Kaiba laugh. "I wouldn't get your hopes up, Mokuba. Jounochi isn't exactly known for being the smartest person out there."

Gritting my teeth in frustration, I said "Whatever, Kaiba. If you're so smart then, why don't you help him?"

"I have work to finish," he said. "I'll be in my office."

He walked upstairs without any other form of farewell, and I huffed in frustration. He couldn't leave me alone for an entire day, could he? But still, did that mean he was leaving?

"Does he mean his office at work?" I inquired.

"Nah," Mokuba replied. "That would be a pain. He has an office here, down the hall from your room."

I nodded, following the kid upstairs to his bedroom. "That seems like all the rooms you'd need right there. What's in the rest of this place?"

Mokuba shrugged. "More guest rooms, meeting rooms, dining rooms, more bathrooms, a den. We have a movie theater and an arcade, too, but they really only get used when I have friends over."

I whistled, impressed. I knew the place was huge, but a movie theater?

Going into Mokuba's room, we sat down at his desk and he rummaged around in a drawer before pulling out a mathbook and a notebook. I didn't really look forward to doing math, but c'mon, how hard could it be?

"I have trouble with these," Mokuba pointed to a group of problems. "I'm okay with the regular ones, but when they throw the fraction in there, it throws me off."

Fractions. Right.

Looks like this might not be so easy after all.

* * *

It was four o'clock. We had spent an hour doing homework and an hour studying, and my brain was fried. I'd forgotten all the useless stuff you learn in middle school. I had told Mokuba that, and said maybe he should wait for his brother to help him, but I guess he never realized how bad I was at this stuff because he gave me a confused look and said I was doing fine.

Now the homework was put away, but the kid said we should stay in his room, since Kaiba was still working. Sitting there, he suddenly turned towards me.

"How are you feeling Jou? From last night?"

I blinked. Oh, right I had almost forgotten the reason I was here in the first place.

"I'm fine. I had a headache this morning, but it's gone now."

Mokuba smiled at me. "That's great."

He was such a nice kid, I felt embarrassed he had seen me like that. Hopefully he didn't think that's how I was all the time.

"Hey, I'm sorry you had to see that," I told him. "It doesn't happen often. Actually, I hardly ever drink, but…last night was hard on me." The details of which I wouldn't go into now – or ever, with him. Mokuba was a smart kid, but still a kid.

He nodded, not asking any question. "It's okay, Jou. I understand. I'm just glad we found you."

I thought of what Kaiba had told me this morning; that Mokuba had been the one who wanted to pick me up off the streets. I had almost forgotten that Mokuba himself had said that it had been Kaiba who wanted to.

"Oh! Mokuba, is what you told me this morning true? It was Kaiba's idea?"

"Well, I saw you," he answered. "But Seto told the driver to stop, and he went out into to the rain and pulled you into the limo. We were on the way to an important meeting of his, but big brother made the driver turn around and take you to the house first."

I blinked; so it _was_ true. "Huh. I never expected Kaiba to do something like that."

"Yeah…" Mokuba hugged his knees. "He'd kill me if he found out I said this, but I think Seto likes you. All of you guys, I mean. It seems like he wants to be part of your group, but he doesn't want to ruin his reputation or something, so he just gets mad at you instead." He shrugged. "That's what I think, anyway." Suddenly, he got a determined look on his face and stared me straight in the eyes. "But you can't tell him I said that. Don't even bring the topic up, okay?"

"Nah, I won't say anything to him. If you haven't noticed, Kaiba and I can hardly have a civil conversation, let alone a heart to heart." I snickered, just thinking about it. To be honest, I don't really know if I believed the kids theory. I mean, I guess it kinda makes sense, but it's just too weird. Kaiba normally goes out of his way to ignore or harass us.

Changing the subject, I said "But thanks again, Mokuba. Who knows where I'd be if you guys hadn't picked me up." My stomach knotted up when I realized I might be dead.

"No problem Jou, that's what friends are for." He paused. "Or enemies."

I let out a short laugh. "You got that right, kid."

Mokuba smiled shyly. "But Seto was really nice today. You guys got along a lot better than you normally do."

"Don't get used to it," I told him. "He just feels bad for me. I guess even Kaiba knows not to kick someone while they're down."

"Yeah, I guess so. But I think it depends on the situation. My brother can be a pretty big ass to the people he works with."

I blinked. "Well, so much for having to watch my language in front of you."

The boy giggled. "Seto's the only one who's touchy about that. I don't know why, I hear him curse all the time, and he just doesn't realize it."

I smiled, actually knowing what Seto Kaiba felt like for once in my life. "He's just watchin' out for his little brother."

Pouting, Mokuba said "He just needs to realize I'm not a little kid anymore."

I sighed. "He probably just doesn't want to accept that you're growing up. Believe me, I know the feeling." I can never believe how old Serenity has gotten, especially since I don't get to see her every day. I still remember when we used to go down to the beach together…that seems like such a long time ago now.

"That's just how big brothers are," I continued.

Mokuba's pout was gone, a smile replacing it. "Yeah. Seto can act like a big jerk sometimes, but I know he really cares about me."

I put my hand on his head. The kid really could be cute sometimes. "Of course he does. So, you still up for those video games?"

His smile broadened into a grin. "Yeah! What do you wanna play?"

I shrugged. "What do you have?"

Mokuba let out a small giggle, and pulled a box out from under his bed. "These are all my games. I have about fifty," he said. "Mostly shooters, but I also have a lot of fighting games and a couple horror. Seto doesn't like me playing those as much, though. Oh, and I also have all of the GTA games, and other sports ones, although I don't play those as often."

Man, it might take me all night just to decide what game to play! Seeing this many games was pretty exciting. I had never personally owned a gaming system, but Honda and Yugi did, and I always went to their houses to play them.

"This is awesome!" I commented. "Why don't we start with a shooter, then? You can pick which one."

A confident smirk appeared on his face, making him look more like his older brother. "Fine, but don't expect me to go easy on you!"

* * *

Two hours later, we had played at least one game from almost every genre Mokuba had, and there was one thing I had learned: The kid was _good_. In my defense, it wasn't like I had a system at home to play on, so he had alot more practice than me. It was starting to get frustrating, too – we were on the final round of Mortal Combat, and Mokuba managed to get the final hit on me. "Dammit!" I yelled.

Just as Kaiba walked through the door. "Jounochi, what did I say about watching your language in front of my brother?"

I rolled my eyes. "Please, moneybags, if you really don't think –"

"Sorry, Seto," Mokuba cut in. "Anyway, what's up?"

He threw me a glance before turning back to his brother.

"It's time for dinner."

Awesome! I was starting to get hungry, too. As if to remind me, my stomach made the loudest noise I'd ever heard.

Mokuba laughed, but Kaiba's face showed no sign of amusement. "This must be pretty exciting for you, Jounochi. After all, you won't be eating off the streets today."

As soon as it had come out of his mouth, Mokuba looked at him in shock. I was a little surprised, too – I mean, that's nothing Kaiba wouldn't normally say, but c'mon! What a low life. I could feel my temperature rising in anger. Who the hell made that kind of comment right after my house burns down?!

I stood up from the floor, making sure my face showed no emotion. This was low, even for him. "Nice one, asshole. I'm sure your brother thinks you're really cool for makin' fun of me like that. Go suck one." With that, I brushed past him, never meeting his eyes. I won't lie, a comment like that hurt. I made my way to my room, walking quickly and locking the door behind me once I arrived. Maybe I was acting like a kid, but c'mon! Normally, Kaiba's comments wouldn't have this sort of effect on me – sure, I'd threaten to beat his sorry ass, but to make a comment like that right after my goddamn house burned down…he really was the worst. And here I thought he wasn't such a bad guy, after all. So much for Mokuba's theory of him wanting to be friends.

I laid down on my bed, throwing my arm over my face. Screw him. I didn't ask to be taken here, he was the one who invited me. I could leave, right now. Go stay with Yugi or Honda until Social Services came for me. Too bad it wasn't exactly a short walk back to town, or else I would. Who needs Kaiba, anyway….

I found myself waking up, still in my clothes. I guess I musta dozed off. Huh, how long had it been since I came in here? Groggily, I checked the digital clock next to me. It was seven, making my nap about an hour long. I was a still hungry as hell, but dinner would be done by now, and I doubt Kaiba saved me any of his special ass rich guy food. That was fine with me, it's not as if I'd never gone hungry before.

…Then again, Kaiba was probably holed up in his office again, and Mokuba was probably in his room, too. No harm in checking the fridge. Might as well take what I can get while I still can.

Climbing off my bed, I peeked out the door. There was a light coming under Mokuba's door, and another one from Kaiba's room. Content, I slipped out the door and down the stairs, making sure to be as quiet as possible. The last thing I needed was Kaiba coming down here calling me a theif of somethin'. Looking around, I didn't see any of the staff, either. Guess they all went home for the day.

The kitchen had a door to get in, like you see in restaurants. Scoffing, I walked through and quickly found the massive fridge. I didn't expect there to be leftovers, it wasn't like Kaiba to eat something twice. Damn bastard. Opening the fridge, it looked like I was right – there were only fresh ingredients. Luckily, I had been cooking for myself for years. And he had shrimp! Now, this was really starting to look good. I'm glad the damn rich boy didn't want to give me any of his food, it probably would've been some fancy ass meal, like snails or something. Either that, or he woulda given me something bad. But now, I get shrimp! I love shrimp, but it was always too expensive for us to get.

In no time, I had noodles boiling on the stove and the sauce being made. I'd cook the shrimp later, since it got done faster. Man, I couldn't wait to eat this! As I turned around to grab an onion out of the fridge, I noticed something out of the corner of my eye. I wheeled back to the door, to see Kaiba standing in the doorway. He was smug as ever, with his arms crossed over his chest, leaning against the doorframe. Scowling, I turned back to the stove. "What the hell do you want?"

Even though I wasn't looking at him, I could feel the look he was giving me. I gritted my teeth, furiously chopping away.

"This is my house, mutt. That question would be more appropriate to ask yourself."

I ignored him, knowing that f I answered, all hell would break loose. A minute went by before he spoke again, his voice considerably softer this time. "I could smell it from my room. I didn't know you could cook."

"Of course I can," I snapped. "After all, I wouldn't want to eat street food my whole life." It was quiet again for a while. I added the shrimp and sauce to the noodles and grabbed a bowl from the cabinet while it finished cooking. It smelled damn good, too, and I was practically slobbering as I poured the finished lo mein into the bowl. Kaiba was blocking the only entrance out of the room, though. I walked right up to him, looking him in the eyes. "Move, Kaiba."

Surprisingly, he actually did what I said, and stepped aside for me. I marched right over to the table and sat down, slurping away. Even though I was mad at moneybags, who was standing against the wall watching me eat, a small smile appeared on my face. I should give myself a pat on the back, this was damn good. But the fact that he was just standing there watching me eat was starting to tick me off. "Is there something you want?" I asked, through mouthful of food.

He didn't answer, so I kept eating. Screw it, if he wanted to be a weirdo he could.

"Don't think you're getting any of this," I added, after a couple of minutes.

Kaiba rolled his eyes. "Like I would eat something like that. While lo mein isn't the worst, I still don't like to eat it very often."

I had finished my bowl, and didn't really fell like sitting down here with moneybags staring at me any longer, so I stood up and went back into the kitchen to put the rest away. Probably the first time Kaiba's has left over food in his fridge.

I really thought he was done with me, but when I turned around to go back upstairs, he was standing in front of me.

"Jounochi, wait."

"Why should I, bastard?"

"I wanted to apologize." His voice was calm, like it was the most normal thing in the world. I was shocked – I don't think in all the time I've known him, Kaiba's ever apologized for anything. Especially not to me. I couldn't help but to look up at him in surprise. "What I said was unnecessary," he continued. "I wasn't thinking about the current situation. At any other time, you would have just reacted like you always do – making pointless threats and talking big. You've been handling the whole situation so well that honestly, I forgot about it. I just wanted to let you know that I didn't mean for my words to hurt you like that."

I didn't know what to think. Seto Kaiba, apologizing to me. Not only that, but it sounded sincere, to boot. I decided to just say what was on my mind. "I didn't think you were capable of saying something like that, Kaiba. I'm impressed. And…" I hesitated. The guy was definitely a bastard, and I was definitely mad at him…but the fact that he tried to do something about it meant a lot, regardless.

"I appreciate it," I continued. "That means a lot, coming from a rich prick like you."

I realized then that today was Saturday. I had to go back to school in two days. The whole thing seemed kind of unthinkable, considering everything I had gone through.

"How are you handling it?" Kaiba asked, snapping me out of my thoughts. "I mean, for someone who's father just died, you don't seem that beat up about it."

I scoffed. "You're not really one for subtlety, are ya?"

"I don't need to be." His reply was quick. "I know you can handle it. You might be an idiot, Jounochi, but you're by no means weak."

"Hn. Well…thanks, I think." I sighed. "I'm not thinking about it much, to be honest." If only Kaiba knew everything I had to deal with, he'd be amazed at how happy I am all the time. This wasn't any different from what I'd been doing my whole life.

"I mean, it's not like the guy was the best father ever. I never wanted him dead, though."

Kaiba seemed to be thinking about something, and it took him a minute before he finally said "Jounochi…weren't you wondering who changed you into those pajamas last night?"

Wait, what? Where was this coming from all of a sudden? "Are you saying you did it, Kaiba? You don't have a thing for me, do you?" I was joking, of course, but I really don't get what Kaiba's point was. "I guess one of the butlers did it, what's your point?" I asked.

Kaiba looked at me again, like he was trying to figure out if I was being serious or not. What was the big deal? It's not like I care if another guy sees me in my….underwear….

Then, I realized what Kaiba meant. Of course, it had been so obvious! I had been so distracted by everything else that I hadn't even thought about it. God, I'm an idiot. I became even more conscious of the cuts and bruises that littered my body.

My face turned serious, and I met Kaiba's eyes. "You know."

He didn't affirm or deny the accusation. "Why didn't you tell anyone?"

"What good would that have done?" I snapped. "He was my father, I couldn't really do anything about it."

His voice rose in volume now. "You could have gone to the police! You could have gone to Yugi's!"

"Don't try to act like you know me, Kaiba." My voice was a low hiss. "You don't know anything about my life, and you of all people shouldn't be trying to help me now. Don't act like we're friends."

"You're one to talk about hypocrisy," he growled. "All you and your friends talk about is friendship, and then when I try to help you, you block me out."

"What have you done to deserve it?!" I yelled. "Nothing! You've treated me like crap since the day I met you. This is the only decent thing you've done for anyone except Mokuba in your entire life! We've given you plenty of chances, Kaiba, and you just choose not to take them!"

"It's not like you would have accepted me even if I had tried!" He was yelling too now, something the calm and collected Kaiba rarely did. "Even if I had tried, and you would have accepted me, I'd never really be the same! You'd always look at me different, because I _am_ different. There's no point in trying to be friends with you, because it would only lead to more discomfort!"

That shut me up. I stared at him for a long time, trying to figure out if he meant it or not. It turned out Seto Kaiba was more complicated than I thought. Maybe Mokuba's theory really wasn't that far off.

"That's your problem," I said. "Not mine."

With that, I brushed past him, and went to bed.

* * *

This was a pretty dramatic chapter, huh? What do you guys think? Next chapter, I think I'm going to write it from Kaiba's POV, so look out for that! I hope you liked it - review if you did!


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